Conveyer



v1111 s, 1930. H IGRQSS 1,770,369

CONVEYER Fileduay 21, 1928 ATTORNEY A Patented July S,l 1,930 Y narransrarss rarasr ovarica HENRY Gnoss, or'ninenwoon, NnwYoitir, estranea/ro Uiiirnn rn'orr coiiiraNY, or Nnw Yoan, N. Y., n con-roianiioN or NnwzrnnsnY coNvnYnn :Application filed May 21,1928. 'Serial No. 279,297.

The present invention has` for an object to provide an improved conveyer mechanism of the type in which a length of flexible material such as canvas is draped between a plurality of transverse bars to forni pockets. Conveyers of this type are used, forexaniple, in

conveying bananas up from the hold of a ship. n

In operation the pockets ofsuch conveyers tend to reverse as they come tooperative po sition from the lower end of their travel, that is to say the slack of the canvas forming the pocket falls forward Aoverthe crossbar and must be pushed back over the bar before use. The present invention Vprovides ineans for preventing reversal of the pockets and for causing them automatically to come to operative article receiving position.

The natur and* Objects of the invention will be better understood V'from a V'consideration of a particular embodiment thereof for the purposes of which description reference should beh-ad to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof and in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a section of a conveyer showing the invention applied thereto, v I

Figure 2 is a detail view in side elevation showing the retainingchain in operative position, and Y Figure 3 is a similar view showing the operation of the chainto prevent turning of the pocket on the downward traveling run of the conveyor.

Figure a is a detail view of the clamp which is riveted to the canvas carrier-` Y n ln the embodiment shown for the purposes of illustrating the principles of the invention, a typical conveyor of the type commonly used for example for conveying bananas up from the hold of a ship is shownas pr y' vided with means for preventing reversal of the pockets as said pockets pass around the sprocket wheels at the lower end of the conveyer. As shown, the conveyerconiprises a flexible canvas sheet 5 draped between cross bars 6 carried by spaced side chains 7. f The canvas 'is looped over thefcrosssbarsaas at 8 and a strip of felt 9 overlies each loop to :the bananas or other et falls Vto operate if only one chain is applied. The

belt tends to give a measure of stitlness .to the provide padding to avoid unduly bruising article carried against the cross-bars. In operation of conveyersY of this typey as thecross-bar passes around Vthe sprocket wheels at the lower end of the conveyer the slack canvas forming the poel;-

vertica-l run of the conveyer., it lies forward of thev crossbar `and mustv he pushed baclr over-thebar to operative position before a bunch of bananascan be placed 1 1 up along the therein. The present invention avoids the inconvenience oy providing means for automatically turning the pockets to operative position, or for preventing them from tui ing toinoperative position, as thecrossbars pass around tlielower sprocket wheelsn downwardly and as the pocket coincs clamp ll consisting'of a piece of metalA folded y around the edge of the canvas and riveted thereto forms a suitable connection .between the canvas and chain. The chains extend around the rod from the back thereof and are secured to the eyes of CotterA pins for example on the front side of the shaft or rod in such position that, as the loop of canvas rotates in operation, the chain winds'up on said rod and limits the extent of rotation of the loop, that is to say, it prevents a pocket moving around the shaft to the undesirable inoperative position. rllhere are, preferably, Atwo chains for each pocket, one on each side ofthe sheet, although if the sheet isof relatively heavy canvasV it is ordinarily sucientlyrigid loop of canvas around the transverse rod, so that the chains `operating on tlie'edges of the canvas sheet will operate sui'iiciently to hold the full width of the canvas in the de-v` sired position without making necessary the provision of additional devices operating at the centers of the rods.

The chains or other suitable flexible memy bers so hold the vcanvas as the conveyor moves'v CJI around the lower sprocket wheels that the slack canvas forming the pocket falls to operative position.

The foregoing particular description is illustrative merely and is not intended as deining the limits of the invention.

I claim:

l. A conveyer comprising a plurality 0f spaced cross-bars, a iexible member draped between said cross-bars and longer than the distance therebetween to 'form article receiving pockets and means for preventing the slack of said member from moving forward* ly of the cross-bar as the cross-bar passes from its downward travel to its upward travel.

2. A conveyer of the character described comprisingl a plurality of spaced cross-bars, a flexible sheet substantially longer than the distances between cross-bars draped over suc- Cessive cross-bars to form poclrets,` llexible members secured to said flexible sheet and extending around said cross-bars to limit rotation of said flexible sheet around said cross-bars in one direction.

3. A conveyer comprising a plurality of spaced cross-bars, a flexible member draped between said cross-bars and longer than the distance therebetween to form article receiving pockets and flexible members secured to the slack of the pockets and anchored to the conveyer to limit rotation of the slack of the pockets around the cross-bars.

In testimony whereof, l have signed my name t0 this speciication this ninth day of May, 1928.

Y HENRY GROSS.

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